105.1 Down South,
105.3 Up North,
and now 105.7 Serving
Downtown, Uptown, and the Westen Suburbs...

KREV
105.1 FM

WREV
105.3 FM

KFCE
105.7 FM

The day the music died

(Written 14 March 1997)

It
happened a few days ago...

The day started like any other day; my alarm clock went off and
after smashing the snooze bar several times I finally peeled myself out
of bed. I have a radio next to the shower. It's been set to REV 105 for
*years*. There was simply no reason to listen to any other station.

On this particular morning, I turned the radio on and began the
usual tooth-brushing, shaving, showering thing. Some rock song was playing:
not very REV-ish, but you never know what they'll occasionally slip in.
Maybe it had some tie-in to a news story? But then another rock song, and
another, and still no Brian and Steve! Then finally some voice said "X-105."
I was in the shower at this point and a suspicion crossed my mind. I was
taken back to a day some years ago when there was only one alternative
station in town. It was 104 at that time and they changed to a country
music format.

But why worry, REV just recently added a third transmitter. Everything
will be OK. I dismissed the idea that REV might be gone, choosing to think
that maybe REV 105 was having temporary technical difficulty and was momentarily
off the air allowing some more distant 105 station to come through and
be picked up by my radio. Or maybe I had bumped the frequency dial and
a new station was on the air using the previously vacant 105.5 or 105.9
frequencies.

But then I heard it: X105 -- 105.1, 105.3, and 105.7... A feeling
of dread came over me. It happened again. My favorite station was just
erased from existence.

I'd been really busy the last couple weeks at work and at home.
I hadn't paid too much attention to the news. Did everyone know this was
going to happen. Was I just in the dark about this?

This was blasphemy. Static
would be much more pleasing than what is played on X-105. If you're going
to kill a station, just let it die a simple death. This "rock" format is
just salt in the wound. Insult added to injury.

I talked to some coworkers. They too had discovered that REV 105
disappeared. But no one knew the details. Later that day I thought "there
must be an explanation on the REV home page" (at http://www.rev105.com/),
but the link I had on my Twin Cities page was dead. There was no REV105.com.
Even that was gone. They had done a thorough job, whoever they were. Then
I tried the REVline at 603-5738. It was still working. And still is, as
of 12:40 AM, Sunday, March 16. If you choose option 5, you can leave your
comments about REV 105...

Just a note:

The above represents what I felt when I first found out that REV
105 was gone. I think it's natural to feel somewhat angry when something
you really like (even love)is replaced with something you dislike. I'm
sure that hard rock fans will find my initial feelings rather insulting
- but that's what I thought then, so the article stays as it is. My apologies
to hard rock fans - there is (almost) no inherently bad music - only various
opinions.

Read on to see what I think now.The issue is much bigger than just alternative music or hard rock....

Steadfast listeners of REV 105 are morose. Hard rock fans are glad
to have a new station that plays music they like (X-105). Wouldn't it be
nice if everyone could find a radio station that they really liked....
No type of music is "bad." People have individual tastes and each individual
likes certain musical genera and dislikes others. The musical spectrum
is pretty broad: Pop, rap, rock, metal, soul, jazz, techno, disco, R&B,
alternative, country, local-bands, classical, folk, etc.. Having many diverse
radio stations would be good. It would encourage a broad range of musical
style, many unique DJ personalities, and various spins on news stories.

With that in mind, think about this:

According to the March 19 edition of the CITY PAGES, ABC paid more
than $11 million dollars to acquire REV 105. I don't know how much it would
have cost for ABC to build a new FM transmitter, but I suspect that $11
million dollars would have been a very good start on a powerful, centrally-located
transmitter that would broadcast on a single frequency, rather than on
a hodgepodge of three frequencies.

I have been told that there was some type of "non-compete" agreement
clause in the REV purchase. This prevents Cargill Communications from using
the money to start a new radio station. It seems that in addition to gaining
a hard rock station, the purchase of REV 105 was a strategic move to eliminate
the competition. ABC now controls The EDGE, KQ, and X-105. If you listen
to one of these stations and you like the music, that's great. It's good
that you have found a station you are happy with. But understand that your
favorite station is controlled by a media giant, and someday in the future
if your favorite style of music, or DJ, becomes unfashionable, ABC will
not hesitate to move their format wherever the almighty dollar leads.

If ABC had built a new station that played hard rock, it would not
have concerned me a bit. The twin cities would have one more station -
more diversity and more choices - that would have been a good thing. I
am very concerned that the deregulation of the radio industry means that
small broadcasters will be forced out: there will be fewer players in the
radio market, and we will all have fewer choices - no matter what our preferences;
the free flow of unconventional ideas and information will be hindered.

Not surprisingly, quite a few REV 105 pages have sprung up on the internet.
Check out these two pages - they have links to others.